Robotic interventional systems and devices are well suited for performing minimally invasive medical procedures as opposed to conventional techniques wherein the patient's body cavity is open to permit the surgeon's hands access to internal organs. Traditionally, surgery utilizing conventional procedures meant significant pain, long recovery times, lengthy work absences, and visible scarring. Advances in technology have lead to significant changes in the field of medical surgery such that less invasive surgical procedures, in particular, minimally invasive surgery (MIS), are increasingly popular. A “minimally invasive medical procedure” is generally a procedure that is performed by entering the body through the skin, a body cavity, or an anatomical opening utilizing small incisions rather than large open incisions in the body.
Various medical procedures are considered to be minimally invasive including, for example, mitral and tricuspid valve procedures, patent formen ovale, atrial septal defect surgery, colon and rectal surgery, laparoscopic appendectomy, laparoscopic esophagectomy, laparoscopic hysterectomies, carotid angioplasty, vertebroplasty, endoscopic sinus surgery, thoracic surgery, donor nephrectomy, hypodermic injection, air-pressure injection, subdermal implants, endoscopy, percutaneous surgery, laparoscopic surgery, arthroscopic surgery, cryosurgery, microsurgery, biopsies, videoscope procedures, keyhole surgery, endovascular surgery, coronary catheterization, permanent spinal and brain electrodes, stereotactic surgery, and radioactivity-based medical imaging methods. With MIS, it is possible to achieve less operative trauma for the patient, reduced hospitalization time, less pain and scarring, reduced incidence of complications related to surgical trauma, lower costs, and a speedier recovery.
Special medical equipment may be used to perform minimally invasive procedures. Typically, a surgeon inserts small tubes or ports into a patient and uses endoscopes or laparoscopes having a fiber optic camera, light source, or miniaturized surgical instruments. Without a traditional large and invasive incision, the surgeon is not able to see directly into the patient. Thus, the video camera serves as the surgeon's eyes. The images of the interior of the body are transmitted to an external video monitor to allow a surgeon to analyze the images, make a diagnosis, visually identify internal features, and perform surgical procedures based on the images presented on the monitor.
Minimally invasive procedures may involve minor surgery as well as more complex operations that involve robotic and computer technologies, which may be used during more complex surgical procedures and have led to improved visual magnification, electromechanical stabilization, and reduced number of incisions. The integration of robotic technologies with surgeon skill into surgical robotics enables surgeons to perform surgical procedures in new and more effective ways.
Although minimally invasive surgical techniques have advanced, physical limitations of certain types of medical equipment still have shortcomings and can be improved. For example, during a minimally invasive medical procedure, a guide catheter may be inserted into a body cavity duct or vessel. A catheter is an elongated tube that may, for example, allow for drainage or injection of fluids or provide a path for delivery of other working or surgical instruments, such as an ablation catheter, to a surgical or treatment site. During use, however, air bubbles may form within the catheter lumen before, during or after delivery of the working instrument, or during exchange of one working instrument for another working instrument, thereby resulting in bubbles being pushed into the patient, which can cause complications during surgery. There are known methods and devices for flushing catheters in an attempt to purge the catheter of air bubbles, but air bubbles may nevertheless form to complicate surgical procedures. Thus, the manner in which catheter lumens are flushed to remove bubbles can be improved.